Kentucky Injury Lawyer Blog

Owners of Toyotas who have had their vehicles repaired after being recalled have complained to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that they have continued to experience sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) after the repair. This information adds fuel to the fire of those who doubt that the SUA problem is mechanical and is actually an electronic issue. However, Toyota continues to maintain that the issue is not electronic of software related. I posted about this a few days ago here.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. The issues involved in the Toyota recall will also result in lost value for owners of Toyota vehicles, sometimes call diminution in value. Class action lawsuits have been filed, and I am reviewing and accepting these cases.

Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most attorneys will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for more information or to ask questions. Or just click here, and it will take you to a page containing contact information.

We've posted before about Toyota bragging about saving money and showing more concern about profits instead of people. Now, another story has surfaced documenting that Toyota's success in blocking a 2008 recall of its Sienna model, linked by NHTSA to 98 injuries caused by tailgate collapses, was categorized as a "win" for the company.

The memo cited $255 million in wins for the company, including the Sienna issue, and minimized the injuries consumers reported.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. The issues involved in the Toyota recall will also result in lost value for owners of Toyota vehicles, sometimes call diminution in value. Class action lawsuits have been filed, and I am reviewing and accepting these cases.

Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most attorneys will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for more information or to ask questions. Or just click here, and it will take you to a page containing contact information.

The Toyota recall woes continue for the company. Now, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, which is located in Manhattan, have issued grand jury summonses to Toyota signaling the launch of a criminal investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun probing into what Toyota executives told investors.

Speculation as to the nature of the investigations centers around potential product safety law violations and false statements to National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding sudden unintended acceleration and the Prius' braking system. The SEC confirmed its request for information regarding the sudden unintended acceleration issue and Toyota's disclosure policies and practices.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. The issues involved in the Toyota recall will also result in lost value for owners of Toyota vehicles, sometimes call diminution in value. Class action lawsuits have been filed, and I am reviewing and accepting these cases.

Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most attorneys will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for more information or to ask questions. Or just click here, and it will take you to a page containing contact information.

Toyota still refused to admit last week at congressional hearings that electronics are the cause of, or at least play a role in, the sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) defect that is the subject of the massive recall. This despite an expert's ability to reproduce SUA in field experiments by electrically short circuiting a Toyota's electronics using an external bypass system that recreates conditions, such as corrosion, moisture and manufacturing imperfections that may be culprits.

The professor, David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University, has so far been able to replicate SUA on a Tundra, Lexus, Matrix and Avalon.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. The issues involved in the Toyota recall will also result in lost value for owners of Toyota vehicles, sometimes call diminution in value. Class action lawsuits have been filed, and I am reviewing and accepting these cases.

Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most attorneys will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for more information or to ask questions. Or just click here, and it will take you to a page containing contact information.

A Complaint filed in Edwardsville, Missouri claims that the popular sandwhich ship, “Blimpies” claims of super-stacking their subs is false advertising. The defendant is Arizona-based Kahala Corp., which operates Blimpies and other chain restaurants. Plaintiffs are Ronald Williams and Jennifer Clayton, who are regular Blimpie customers.

The plaintiffs allege that Blimpie advertises "double portions of meat" on "Super Stacked" sandwiches and therefore charges a higher price for those sandwiches. Therefore, the plaintiffs, and regular customers of the chain, were dismayed to find out that the subs in question do not have double portions of meat.

The plaintiffs have petitioned the Court asking that the suit be certified as a “class action” on behalf of Illinois residents who have purchased the sandwiches. They want a court order preventing the chain from advertising the subs without actually including double portions of meat.

Blimpies spokeswoman Jami Thompson responded today that "Super Stacked" subs do have double meat portions and added: "What they don’t have is twice the protein, and we don’t say that they do. There is twice the protein from meat because it’s double the meat, but it’s not double the protein because the bread also contains protein and it’s served on the same roll for both sandwiches."

For more information about the rights of consumers when their rights may have been violated please call John A. Bahe, Jr. directly at (866) 587-0002 or e-mail him at john@bccjlaw.com.

An internal Toyota memo has surfaced through the recent congressional hearings documenting officials' claims that the company saved $100 million by negotiating a limited recall of floor mats with the U.S. government in some Toyota and Lexus models. The heading is titled "Wins for Toyota - Safety Group." The document highlights Toyota's efforts at delaying and avoiding government regulations and investigations.

It goes without saying that this new revelation in Toyota's ongoing saga suggests the company consciously placed profits above safety of its customers and anyone else who encountered one of their vehicles. Upwards of 40 deaths have now been attributed to crashes involving sudden unintended acceleration. One has to wonder how many people died because of the conscious decisions Toyota's management made to save money instead of focusing on fixing the problem.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. The issues involved in the Toyota recall will also result in lost value for owners of Toyota vehicles, sometimes call diminution in value. Class action lawsuits have been filed, and I am reviewing and accepting these cases.

Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most attorneys will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for more information or to ask questions. Or just click here, and it will take you to a page containing contact information.

On February 18, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it is formally launching an investigation into approximately 500,000 2009-2010 Toyota Corolla vehicles. The half million vehicle probe follows receipt of over 160 complaints of steering problems. These drivers have reported their Corolla veering sharply at high speeds. At least ten of the complaints involve injuries from the problem.

The investigation comes on the heels of recalls of 8.5 million vehicles worldwide for problems including sudden unintended acceleration concerns and braking concerns with the Prius and other hybrid vehicles. Toyota continues to deny that vehicle electronics are at fault. Upwards of 40 deaths and numerous serious injuries have been linked to runaway Toyotas experiencing sudden and unintended acceleration.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. The issues involved in the Toyota recall will also result in lost value for owners of Toyota vehicles, sometimes call diminution in value. Class action lawsuits have been filed, and I am reviewing and accepting these cases.

Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most attorneys will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for more information or to ask questions. Or just click here, and it will take you to a page containing contact information.

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against internet service provider WideOpenWest LLC installed spyware. It is alleged that on the service provider’s networks information was allowed to be accessed by third-party online advertising companies to all inbound and outbound communication. Those using WideOpen West’s services were not informed that their personal information would be made available to outside parties for advertising purposes (of for any other purpose). The company's literature specifically states that customers should "rest assured that WOW does not and will not share personably identifiable information with any advertiser."

The suit was filed in US District Court in Chicago on Wednesday, and claims that the internet company allowed virtually unlimited access to the personal information of at least 330,000 people in Cleveland, OH; Columbus, OH; Detroit, MI; Chicago, IL; and Evansville, IN.

The "class" of plaintiffs is asking the Court to Order Worldwide West turn over all money received from any third party company that paid for information on its customer base. The suit also asks for WideOpen West to delete all of its stored personal information, and restitution and damages for invasion of privacy, unjust enrichment, eavesdropping and violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse act.

For more information about the rights of consumers,and when those rights may have been violated please call John A. Bahe, Jr. directly at (866) 587-0002 or e-mail him at john@bccjlaw.com.

Thousand of America’s finest who were injured on and around 9/11 are engaging in settlement discussions with lawyers for the city. The lawsuits were filed against the city by over 9,000 rescue and cleanup workers and volunteers at ground zero on 9/11. The lawsuits alleged that the workers suffered from illness and sickness due to their proximity to ground zero during the days and weeks after the attack. Most of the suits were filed in 2004 against the city and roughly 90 other government agencies and private companies. Now, with trial dates squarely on the horizon, both sides are looking to resolve many, if not most, of the cases through a settlement talks. Twelve cases are currently set for trial in May. Lawyers for the city had been banking on getting many of the cases and causes of action thrown out on what are known as immunity ground (basically that they cannot be sued for decisions made while acting in a governmental capacity). However, the Judge that the cases are in front of, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, rejected that argument as premature. Now that more discovery has taken place, the Court may rule on this issue.

The following is an e-mail from Dana Venneman, who recently filed a class action lawsuit against BMW Financial Services NA, LLC under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

Dear Friends: this is a personal message from Dana Venneman. If you received this email, it is because you are a lawyer I hold in high regard, a leader of Soldiers, a Servicemember, know a Servicemember, or come in contact with Servicemembers every day and often, Servicemembers who have mobilized or will mobilize.

I have retained personal counsel to file a federal class action lawsuit against BMW FINANCIAL SERVICES NA, LLC under the federal statute commonly known as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. I am the lead plaintiff. The lawsuit was filed this month in the United States District Court, District of New Jersey; however, the class may be open to anyone affected, regardless of their location in the continental United States or overseas in military service. The "class of persons," in this case any member of the military similarly situated, has exceptionally good and dedicated counsel and I believe our cause will prevail.

In 2008, I came on military orders to go to the combat zone in Afghanistan with the New York Army National Guard. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, (SCRA) a mobilized Servicemember has a right to surrender an automobile lease without financial consequence or penalty. With these orders, I surrendered ("turned in") a 2006 BMW 330i to BMW FINANCIAL SERVICES NA, LLC with timely notice. When I leased the vehicle, I paid extra money up front, ($6,000.00) to reduce the monthly lease payment (rent). This is typically called a "Capitalized Cost Reduction" or CCR. I am suing BMW FINANCIAL SERVICES NA, LLC because it has repeatedly refused, without any rational basis, to refund a pro-rata share of the CCR remaining on the 36 month lease.

I was motivated in large measure to file this lawsuit because of the great difference in power between a financing company and an individual. I figured that if a lawyer and military officer can't convince BMW FINANCIAL SERVICES NA, LLC of its legal obligations to Servicemembers, after repeated efforts short of a lawsuit, then the injustice is even greater for those Servicemembers without legal education and training, or perhaps even the knowledge that they are entitled to a refund of all rents paid in advance.

I ask you to take a mental note of the lawsuit and if you know a Servicemember, who turned in a lease under the SCRA, ask him or her to contact me. It does not matter if the Servicemember turned the vehicle in to BMW FINANCIAL SERVICES NA, LLC or some other manufacturer's leasing subsidiary/financier. They are entitled to rents paid in advance when they turn the vehicle in. It does not matter how small the value of the pro rata share of rents is. It may not matter how long ago the turn in occurred. The purpose of this lawsuit, in part, is to enjoin manufacturers and/or their leasing subsidiaries from failing to return rents paid in advance to Servicemembers. Ultimately, my counsel and I take up this cause on behalf of all Servicemembers.

Disclaimer: the views contained in this email and in the lawsuit are not to be attributed to the United States Army or the United States Government. This is a personal lawsuit.
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For more information on this subject and the rights of soldiers/servicemembers, contact Louisville, Kentucky attorney Will Nefzger by clicking on this link: e-mail Will. You can also find out more information about me and my firm by clicking on the Website link at the top of this page and going to my bio page.